5 reasons digital forms create safer paper trails
It seems counter-intuitive, but digital forms and contracts create a more secure paper trail than printed documents. For property managers this means you are more protected should there ever be any legal issues around the paperwork. Here’s how:
Digital forms are a central source of truth
When you create a digital form or contract for a client in your CRM, you’re creating a centralised document online which becomes a central source of truth. It’s a bit like having a shared document in a Google Drive that everyone works on – except with better security. This means that everyone is working on the same document, not copies of it which delivers automatic “edition control” and means you don’t have to worry about different versions that may be incorrect.
Every action on the contract is recorded
Each time someone opens a digital form or contract, an electronic record is captured identifying the date and time that the activity took place. This creates a digital history of the document that can be called upon at any time. And when a signature is required, Docusign will capture the IP address of the people who signed as well adding an additional layer of security and a copy of the document they signed off on. This is an especially useful feature in the event of any legal or tribunal proceedings.
Additional clauses can be added consistently
Many businesses have their own special clauses that need to be added to contracts from time to time. Rather than constantly referring to a Word document hidden on your drive, digital forms have shortcuts that allow you to quickly insert pre-approved text. Once this has been added, it’s available to everyone in your team who needs it inside your forms platform. You can also have documentation uploaded as addendums to contracts which can be quickly applied whenever they are needed. This ensures you always have the right wording, and can save time having to hunt for the right wording.
You can create related forms that include updates
If you need to create a second version of a form, a good digital forms system allows you to create a related version of it. This means you can quickly create new forms and contracts without having to go in and re-edit every paragraph or section, unless you decide you want to. Related forms can included addendums and other supplementary information too.
This is a powerful tool that saves you a lot of time – and delivers peace of mind that important changes have been made across your library of forms.
Legal updates are done automatically
When legislation that affects your forms and contracts changes, you want to know that your forms are up to date and you’re using the right version. With a digital forms platform like Forms Live, the contracts inside the system are constantly monitored, and updated whenever legislation changes. This means property managers and real estate agents are protected from using out of date forms that may expose them to legal risk.